Royal Mail's sustainability team is piloting an AI agent that estimates the carbon emissions from new vendor contracts before procurement decisions are made. Built in six weeks using Watershed's carbon accounting platform, the tool calculates the potential Scope 3 impact of purchases like handheld scanners, vehicle replacements, and other high-spend items. It uses financial accounts, emission factors, exchange rates, and Royal Mail's internal carbon price to flag deals that may need extra review. The AI is designed only for purchases that could exceed certain emissions thresholds, not routine low-impact spending. It also shows tradeoffs, such as when a pricier supplier might have a lower carbon footprint. The tool went through a workflow redesign, cutting inputs from 23 fields to as few as eight, after procurement staff gave feedback. Royal Mail already weights environmental criteria at 10% in contract scoring and aims to cut Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030.
